


at your side, as your side

by obstinateRixatrix



Category: Kamen Rider W (Double)
Genre: Gen, takes place after ep 32
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-26
Updated: 2018-04-26
Packaged: 2019-04-28 06:00:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 710
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14442897
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/obstinateRixatrix/pseuds/obstinateRixatrix
Summary: Philip apologizes. At least, he tries to.





	at your side, as your side

**Author's Note:**

> here u go jem lol
> 
> thanks ric for the once over !

“There’s something I haven’t told you,” Philip starts, and Shotaro’s immediately on edge. An opening like that could go in any direction, from mildly irritating (‘I’ve been experimenting with your coffee’) to catastrophically inconvenient (‘I’ve been experimenting with the water supply’).

Slowly, Shotaro puts down the pot of freshly brewed coffee. Nothing in the office looks out of place. Nothing about Philip looks out of place. “Yeah?” Shotaro asks, bracing himself for the worst.

“Shroud approached me.”

“Oh,” Shotaro says. Well, it’s not mildly irritating, and it’s not catastrophically inconvenient. It’s... a damn mystery, is what it is. None of them really know what Shroud’s up to; she’s helped them— or, she’s helped Ryu— or, she’s... involved with Ryu...?

She’s got her own agenda, that’s for sure.

“What did she want?” Shotaro asks. Then, “Wait, when did you guys meet?”

“That doesn’t matter,” Philip says. He’s wrong of course, it definitely matters; knowing _anything_ about Shroud matters… probably. Before Shotaro can point that out, Philip continues with, “She told me you weren’t my true partner.”

Ah.

“It’s rather weak-willed of me, but I—“

“Don’t worry about it,” Shotaro says, cutting him off. “It’s in the past.”

Philip frowns. “I’m trying to apologize,” he says, not sounding very apologetic.

“And I’m saying you don’t need to.” Honestly, the one time Philip bothers to say sorry, and it’s for something like this. “Everything worked out, right? And y’know, I...” Shotaro rubs the back of his neck, looking off to the side. It’s not that it’s hard to say, but he’s already said it. The first time was embarrassing enough. “I only managed to keep up because I knew you wanted me as your partner. So don’t worry about it.”

“By that logic, it’s my fault you couldn’t keep up to begin with,” Philip counters. “Furthermore, it wasn’t just about you keeping up. If you had known for certain I wouldn’t abandon you… if I had realized sooner what it means to be W...“

Guilt’s not a good look on him; Philip’s supposed to be a little selfish, a little difficult, a little infuriating, but with the kind of confidence that’s hard to argue with. Or, well. Maybe it’s less ‘confidence’ and more ‘tunnel vision’. Sure, they both have things to feel guilty over, but this isn’t one of them.

Shotaro puts what’s hopefully a reassuring hand on Philip’s shoulder. “In that situation, anyone would’ve had their doubts.”

“Would you?”

‘Of course’ gets stuck in his throat. It feels like it should be the right answer to give, but could he fight with anyone other than Phillip? Shotaro can’t imagine anyone else by his side. Or, as his side.

He’s never had to make the choice to leave someone behind. He’s not sure he could. So, maybe it would’ve been a different kind of doubt.

“Nobody’s perfect,” Shotaro says, finally.

“You...” Philip trails off, staring intently at Shotaro. It’s not often Shotaro manages to surprise him, to give him something to think about, so this consideration feels like some kind of victory. “You really are half-boiled.”

So much for that. “Why is it half-boiled when I say it!” Shotaro says, a completely reasonable reaction to a completely unreasonable response. “I’m trying to be an understanding guy! No, I’m _being_ an understanding guy!”

“You are. It’s very half-boiled of you.”

“Half-boiled this, half-boiled that, what does half-boiled mean, anyway! How is everything I do half-boiled!”

“Being Shotaro means being half-boiled,” Philip explains, “so everything Shotaro does is half-boiled.”

“Why you— isn’t this supposed to be an apology!?”

Philip gets this look on his face, the kind he gets when he knows he has the upper hand. “You did say not to worry about it.”

“I take it back! You—”

“I’m glad you’re my partner,” Philip interrupts, and all of Shoutaro’s righteous and fully justified aggravation disappears with those five words. It’s completely unfair. “I’ll say it again, and this time I mean it: you’re the only partner for me.”

“It’s the same for me,” Shotaro says, giving up. He’ll match Philip’s pace for this. “The two of us make one detective, after all.”

“Half-boiled,” Philip repeats, and Shotaro grabs a cushion off the couch for something to throw at him.

Philip dodges, of course.

 


End file.
